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1977 - Pakistan's army, led by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, seizes power.

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1978 - Soyuz 30 spacecraft touches down in Soviet Kazakhstan.

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1979 - Judson Laire, actor/singer (Papa-Mama), dies at age 76.

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1980 - Birth of Eva Green; French actress and composer.

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1981 - Rajan Mahadevan recites 31,811 digits of pi from memory.

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1982 - Birth of Alberto Gilardino; Italian football player.

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1983 - Birth of Zheng Jie; Chinese tennis player.

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1983 - In Turkey, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurs.

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1983 - Harry James, swing-era bandleader/trumpet player, dies in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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1983 - New Jersey Devils purchase AHL Maine Mariners as their farm team.

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